i must be alone in liking the character of umbridge! i don't think for one second she's a nice character but she's most certainly an interesting one and i loved reading this fic. you gave great insight into her background, though i agree with tomatoe18's comment about not feeling any sympathy towards her, in my opinion not anything to do with you or your fic, but the way JK wrote her and had her perform the actions she did, it's hard to feel sympathy towards a character like that at all. but i loved the fact that you explained where all her anger and hatred came from. and the thought that someone even worse than umbridge exists in her mother is truly frightening! i also loved the way you referenced back to the present years at hogwarts, ie, when her mother gave her the quill punishment and then her planning on using it on potter. i enjoyed it a lot :)
Ah, you like Umbridge! Bonus points for that! *beams*
i don't think for one second she's a nice character but she's most certainly an interesting one
I completely agree - I chose her exactly for that reason, even though I was certain that Umbridge would keep people from reading the fic. Lol.
I still don't like Umbridge either, not even after writing this story. But it was an interesting and scary experience to get into her head, because to me, she is someone who has forcibly detached herself from her "weaker" feelings and simply operates to function. She is one of the most calculating characters in the potterverse.
Thank you so much for your detailed review and for telling me what worked for you. I love canon, so it made me particularly happy to hear that you enjoyed the references to canon.
^^ ::agrees:: the more complex a character is, the more i am drawn to them. on the surface, umbridge might come across as one of the least complex characters in the potterverse to most, who would simply see her as evil, horrible, narrow minded and unlikeable. but i'm drawn to find out why she is that way and your fic was incrdible at explaining that. still no sympathy though ;)
yeah, i definitely loved the canon. i completely fail when it comes to that so i particularly enjoy stories that reference it and also make it work so well.
I've read the story for the first time while it was still anonymous at hp_darkfest. It just took me some time to formulate an adequate response.
This is a truly fascinating look at Umbridge. When I read the books this was the character that scared me the most - mostly because she reminded me of those bureaucrats of the Third Reich (being German it's something I think first of).
Thank you so much for reading, commenting on and reccing my story. This made my day!
she reminded me of those bureaucrats of the Third Reich (being German it's something I think first of).
I'm German, too, and I totally agree. That's exactly how I see Umbridge - she's Nazi bureaucracy all over. I'm excited to hear that you see her in the same light.
I'd like to point out specifically what I liked about this story, but I don't have the time right now. Just know that I loved it. :)
:-) Thanks again! <3 I read you rec and I enjoyed that you liked the character study of Umbridge and how the story fitted into canon. It's one of the things I enjoy about writing fanfiction, so it makes me happy when it works for the reader as well. :-)
Wow, this is amazing. Frightening, chilling and profoundly unsettling, and yet I feel at least a slight sympathy for Dolores - or at least I understand how she could have become what she did.
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i don't think for one second she's a nice character but she's most certainly an interesting one
I completely agree - I chose her exactly for that reason, even though I was certain that Umbridge would keep people from reading the fic. Lol.
I still don't like Umbridge either, not even after writing this story. But it was an interesting and scary experience to get into her head, because to me, she is someone who has forcibly detached herself from her "weaker" feelings and simply operates to function. She is one of the most calculating characters in the potterverse.
Thank you so much for your detailed review and for telling me what worked for you. I love canon, so it made me particularly happy to hear that you enjoyed the references to canon.
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yeah, i definitely loved the canon. i completely fail when it comes to that so i particularly enjoy stories that reference it and also make it work so well.
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This is a truly fascinating look at Umbridge. When I read the books this was the character that scared me the most - mostly because she reminded me of those bureaucrats of the Third Reich (being German it's something I think first of).
I've recced the story over at crack_van: http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/3555600.html
I'd like to point out specifically what I liked about this story, but I don't have the time right now. Just know that I loved it. :)
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she reminded me of those bureaucrats of the Third Reich (being German it's something I think first of).
I'm German, too, and I totally agree. That's exactly how I see Umbridge - she's Nazi bureaucracy all over. I'm excited to hear that you see her in the same light.
I'd like to point out specifically what I liked about this story, but I don't have the time right now. Just know that I loved it. :)
:-) Thanks again! <3 I read you rec and I enjoyed that you liked the character study of Umbridge and how the story fitted into canon. It's one of the things I enjoy about writing fanfiction, so it makes me happy when it works for the reader as well. :-)
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Wow, this is amazing. Frightening, chilling and profoundly unsettling, and yet I feel at least a slight sympathy for Dolores - or at least I understand how she could have become what she did.
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I'm happy to hear that you liked the story.
Frightening, chilling and profoundly unsettling, and yet I feel at least a slight sympathy for Dolores
If you felt that evil mixture of sympathy and dislike for her, my work is done. :-)
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